Her Female Admirer
by Sakaki's Little Sis1
Summary: The only thing Ino has ever wanted was Sakura's attention but Sakura is to busy swooning over Sasuke. Valentines Day is coming up and this could be her only chance to tell her how she feels....InoSakura, shojo-ai, Ino POV


A/N: I wrote this out of writers block so I'm sorry if it's not that good. Also, **warning**, if you don't like shoujo-ai please do not read this. It's Ino/Sakura.

Title: Her Female Admirer

Rating: PG

Summary: Ino has always been jealous that all of the energy and attention Sakura had went to Sasuke. Not to her. When it's Valentines Day Ino sends something to Sakura to try and win her over, but she hadn't put her name on it, so Sakura immediately thinks it's from Sasuke. Can Ino get Sakura's attention long enough to tell her that she loves her? Ino/Sakura (obviously), Ino POV

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.

I don't know much about Ino's home life but I'm expecting she has parents. If I'm wrong, please correct me nicely, but for this fic she has parents.

IIIII Ino POV

Sure, I'll laugh at Sakura's pathetic attempts to get Sasuke in her arms. I'll mock her for even trying. She thinks I'm out to get Sasuke for my own...but the real reasoning isn't even close to wanting that cocky jerk. I've tried for so long to like someone else. It's never worked. But Sakura won't give me the time of day when that idiot's around. Plus she thinks I'm her rival in this supposed 'love triangle' so she hates me!

It's not like I try to hurt her feelings when I'm around her. We end up arguing a lot though. I just can't help it. I'm angry because she looks at that brooding boy instead of me. I was her first friend, not Sasuke, so why can't she just get over it? When we were little, I only said I liked Sasuke to cover up my feelings for Sakura, and when she learned of this she fell for it too, but that's the last thing I wanted. So now I'm in the dark. The rival. The groupie-girl who pretends to swoon over Sasuke when all I really want is to be with that pretty pink-haired girl named Sakura.

I'm not going to let anyone spoil my chance this Valentines Day. It's only two days away and I still have to find something for her. What would be the right thing, though? I kept thinking this morning about something cliché' like a teddy bear, roses, or a puppy. Then again cliché' is, well, to cliché'.

It would probably be a surprise to get a present from me. Especially one admitting my feelings. Alright, she will be surprised, because I've never really given any hints. I may tell her not to hide behind bangs, to let everyone see that pretty face but that could just be seen as a friendly complement. Though to me I really do think she's pretty. I just want to plant a kiss on that pretty face so bad! Just thinking about it makes me more then happy. Ecstatic.

_Alright, Ino, think. Where should I start?_ I thought to myself as I started walking down the street. With an up-attitude today I felt like changing from my usual outfit. A tight white T-shirt with a big red heart in the middle, it was tucked into a green mini-skirt. I had just felt like showing off my legs today.

The amount of options was a bit overwhelming at first. I mean, I could get her a variety of things, from books to some specially marked shurikens, I could even think of some very cute hair ribbons for her.

_Specially marked shurikens? Those sound like a fair thing...though, I don't know if she'd actually go for those..._ I kept thinking to myself as looked at the window display of those original kunai knives, _Those hair ribbons sound like a pretty good idea. Maybe both? Actually, I should just keep looking. Those kunai's look expensive..._

I couldn't help myself. I knew that I didn't exactly have enough money at the moment to pay for one of the shuriken's or kunai's, but I went into that store anyway.

"These look so awesome!" I whispered to myself.

I looked at a large selection. Some were just painted different colors. When I got to the better designed ones, they were nothing short of beautiful. For such small canvases they were done pretty well. I looked at one that had pink, fluffy clouds, with the red words of 'No words can describe how beautiful I think you are'. Pink made me immediately think of Sakura. And she certainly was beautiful.

"Ino? Is that you?" said a familiar male voice from behind me.

I swung around to see my lazy teammate Shikamaru. He was holding a small paper bag with the stores label on the front of it. He must have bought something from here.

"Hi Shikamaru," I greeted him.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked.

"Uhh...just looking around, is all," I replied. I wasn't about to tell him about my crush.

"Oh, I see, something for Sasuke, ne? For Valentines Day?" Shikamaru suspected.

My blood boiled a bit for him thinking I was shopping for that idiot. Though I had to admit to it. I was supposed to be his mad fangirl after all.

With a forced smile, I said "Yep. You guessed it. Don't tell him though, k?"

"I think I saw Sakura around here a couple minutes before you came in," He stated. I raised an eyebrow which told him to say quickly what he was getting at "I think she was getting something for him too. Looks like another competition between you two."

"Yeah..." I mumbled irritably.

"Though I don't see the point. Arguing over a boy? Seems quite troublesome," He thought his mind once again. Made me wish he wouldn't.

I quickly changed the subject, "So what are you doing here?"

He seemed un-willing to answer the question. Shikamaru looked around for a bit, then shrugged. "I dunno."

"But you bought something," I stated. Now I was really curious. What wasn't he telling me? Was he hiding a secret from me? "You know that I can keep secrets. Come on! Tell me!"

"Ugh...fine. It's a present for Naruto," he groaned.

"Naruto? That spastic runt?"

"Yeah, well, I dunno..." he rolled his eyes when he saw a gleam of excitement in my eyes "Don't read to much into it, okay? It's just a friendly thing. We've been talking to eachother back and forth and I thought I might as well get him something for Valentines Day."

I was a bit shocked to hear that he had been talking to Naruto.

"What?" He asked as I just sort of looked at him. He was now officially annoyed. "Girls can give eachother Valentines Day presents, why can't guys? You got something for Sakura when you were friends back in the day, didn't you?""

_"Wow, thanks Ino! I love it!"_ it rang in my ears. I did get her something when we were little. But what had it been? I couldn't remember at the moment...

"Yeah. I did. But I never said it was anything romantic. You defended before I accused. Someone in denial?" I teased.

"Shutup!" he crossed his arms "Then that present to Sakura when you were little...was that romantic?"

"O-Of course not!" I said immediately.

He laughed for a minute, noticing the red in my cheeks. He shook his hand, "Girls are so hard to understand. I'm not going to even try," He stated. Shikamaru waved as he headed out the door. I just stood there. I was very cross with him. How could he accuse me of that?

When we were little I hid those feelings into the back of my mind. I was always trying to find a boy to like but Sakura was always by my side. I couldn't help but look at her and think she was beautiful because she really is. A nice personality, at times. Everyone usually mis-reads her as a total jerk because she's giving out constructive criticism and corrects anyone who says or write something wrong. Not to mention she yells at Naruto. A lot.

"What did I give her so many years ago?" I spoke to myself once again.

Truthfully I couldn't remember. The memory was fuzzy. I only remember her saying... _"Wow, thanks Ino! I love it!" _and that's where it begins and ends.

I figured that I wasn't going to find anything in here to buy that was in my price range, though I did find a few interesting items, I ripped myself from one piece that I thought would really make her day brighten. I knew she liked anything cute -kittens, puppies, small animals and such- and there was a kunai plagued with kittens and puppies all over it. Of course these weapons weren't meant to be used. I could just see the surprised look of an enemy by getting stabbed by cute little kittens and puppies of death.

As I excited the store, there was a small group of boys that I knew across the street. _Oh, great, Myazaki and the gang_, I thought to myself. They were boys that just wouldn't give up harassing me. I tried to ignore their regular hoots and hollers of "Hey there, hottie!" and "Come over babe! Let's play!". It was awfully annoying.

They started following me which frustrated me even more. How was I supposed to shop with these idiots!

I swung around and said firmly "Leave me alone you guys. I'm shopping and I can't do it with you ass-wipes following me!"

"Ooooh, watch the language Ino. It stings!" Said the main one, Myazaki. The other weirdoes I didn't know but he was just a complete jerk "So whatcya' doing wearing a short skirt like that if you don't want company?"

_It's not your company I want..._ I thought. I asked "And do you honestly think I want your ugly face looking at my legs? If I had known we'd cross paths today I would have brought a paper bag so I could put it over your head with the word 'Fool' written on the front!"

"Look, Ino, we aren't trying to be mean to ya', we're just asking you out."

_Not like I haven't heard this before..._ "Not interested."

"Awww...why not?" the short one whined.

"Because I don't like to waste my time!" I said. "And speaking of a waste of time, this is. I've got things to do and people to shop for-"

I was cut off when Myazaki grabbed my hand and tried to pull me towards him. I would have hit him faster but I was to in shock to do so. When I went out to smack him he grabbed that wrist too.

"L-Let me go!" I shouted, trying to bring attention to the scene. Sure I might be a shinobi but I wasn't about to ruin my outfit just to get these jerks off my case. I pulled my arms out of his grasp, finally, and got a good smack at his face. He fell to the ground. "Deserves you right! Don't you ever touch me again! Now I'll have to take an extra shower just to get your germs off of me!"

"You witch..." he mumbled to himself as he brushed himself off. His lackeys helped him rise off the ground. Myazaki grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me down on the ground. Great, I didn't want to get my outfit dirty, but look what's happening. He stood up, looking down at me with a cocky look.

I tried to get back up but he pushed down on my chest with a foot. I must have really ticked him off with my remarks because the fire in his eyes was a bit frightening.

"Leave her alone!" I heard a strong female voice call to us.

I didn't have time to see who it was. I saw a blur, but I had to close my eyes, because whoever the girl was jump kicked his chest. Once I felt the weight of his body off of me I felt it safe to open my eyes. I could feel a body standing next to me.

I looked up to see pink hair, red clothes, and emerald eyes softly looking down at me.

"S-Sakura...?" I asked as she helped me off of the ground. I started brushing myself off, grumbling curses under my breath. I looked around to see where those jerks went. "Did they run?"

"Yeah, the two dragged the one I kicked away before I had a chance to beat them senseless," Sakura threatened.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why would you protect me?"

"Er-w-well, we were f-friends. I'd help you when you needed me, such as now...you should be thanking me!" Sakura snapped.

She looked so cute when she angry. I nodded "Thanks, I guess."

"What do you mean 'I guess'? They would have hurt you if I hadn't saved your butt. But..." Sakura sighed "Oh well. I'll see you around."

"W-Wait. Sakura?" I didn't want her to leave so quickly.

"Yeah?"

"This'll probably seem like a random question but...I got your a gift for Valentines Day a couple years ago. Ya' know, when we were still best friends. What was it exactly? I can't remember."

Sakura raised a very suspicious eyebrow. I knew that she would suspicious, because I guess that she didn't think about me a whole lot, so why would I think about her? "Why would you be thinking about that, Ino? Are you that bored that your thinking about our past friendship?"

"No! Just that it popped into my mind because Valentines Day is in two days! Don't ask me why it did because it just did, okay?" I snapped back. _Way, to go, Ino. That'll get her to like you!_

"Well I dunno. I think...wait..." Sakura blushed a bit. She pulled the ribbon out of her hair and held it out. It was light blue with a green message embroidered in it. _'Love'_.

_Oh...God...I got her that? It says Love!_ I thought to myself.

"I-I guess I must have meant to grab one that meant 'Friendship'," I said to cover up the meaning of 'Love' I meant.

"Y-You didn't mean...?" Her voice wandered off into her mind.

"Uhh..." I blushed even more. I turned on my heel and began to run. That was so embarrassing! How could I almost let that slip! I could hear her call my name out, telling me to stop, but I wouldn't stop. I didn't have the guts to tell her face to face.

_Wait until Valentines Day Sakura! I'll tell you then! I'll promise! Only through another present!_ I thought to myself as I headed home.

IIIII

I skipped the rest of the day, doing nothing really. By the next morning I was ticked off at myself for giving her that ribbon. How little was I when I gave that to her? Maybe it had a friendly type of love behind it back then but now, to me atleast, love to Sakura meant that I really did love her. Which I guess is obvious to me now.

I've always tried to deny it. I forced myself to look at other boys, try and like them; a good example was Sasuke. I didn't like him at all. He broods way to much for his own health. Yet Sakura still likes him. I don't know why everybody goes for the brooding guy but Sakura seems to like that. I know that Sasuke and I are nothing alike so that might be why she's never liked me. Then again, I'm also a girl...

After a quick shower and breakfast I decided that I needed to get her another ribbon. A couple more, just to mix it up a little, so I wouldn't seem cheap. This time it would be more then just 'Love'. It would be 'I Love You' or 'You're Beautiful' so she would get the message.

Maybe it was a bad idea to admit it to her. I don't know how she'll re-act. She could flip out on me. I could just imagine it now. _"Oh my God, Ino! You're a lesbian? I never knew!" _Yeah. That could be it. With all of the flirting I do with guys it could be a surprise to anyone. But that's only me trying to force myself to be something I'm not. I can't hold it back any longer. It's tearing me apart inside, at times, when I know that I love Sakura, but I have to be torn away because she's also a girl. I'm scared she'll never talk to me again of course but I have to tell her or I'll never be at peace.

I rushed out of the door to find those ribbons. Now if I could only remember where I bought that particular one...heck, if I couldn't remember that I bought it, how was I supposed to remember where I bought it?

"Ino! There you are!" said a loud voice.

I swung around to see Naruto running down the street towards her. I stood there, glum as ever. What could he possibly want with me?

The blonde boy had a big smile on his face. I asked harshly "What do you want?"

"That if it's true!" Naruto said.

"What's true?"

"That you gave Sakura a Valentines Day present when you were younger."

"...Why would you want to know?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I was just wondering you liked her. You know, like-like?" He nudged my arm a bit with a sly look. I knew exactly what he meant. It was enough for me to want to hit him.

I pushed his arm away from me and gave a "Hmph" in reply. I started walking away from him but nobody can get rid of pests that easily.

"Come on. You can tell me? Do you? Huh?" He kept bothering me.

"I swear, Uzumaki, if you do not leave me alone I will hurt you!" I snapped.

"But I just wondered," He said, his voice full of sorrow.

"Do you have nothing better to do with your time!"

"Oh, come on, when I heard Sakura say you gave her a present that said 'Love' on it I was suspicious. Of course she wasn't sure what I was getting at, at first. Then when she figured out what I was saying she smacked me and rushed off."

_Yeah...sounds right_, I thought. "So why are you coming to me?"

"I wanted to know if you liked her. Cause, you know, I thought you liked Sasuke. But you can't if you like another girl. I mean, that would make you a les-"

"Don't you even say it," I said in a dangerous tone. I stopped in mid-walk to turn to him. "Don't you even suggest that to Sakura. Don't give her any ideas!"

"So your not denying it...?" he slowly asked.

"W-W-Wha--? Who said I wasn't! Of course I am! It's a load of bull!"

Naruto started laughing at me.

I, for one, had enough of his crap. I crossed my arms with a grim look on my face. I snapped "What are you laughing about? The final bit of sanity left your pea-sized brain Uzumaki?"

"If it's not the truth, then how come your face is all red?"

"I--well, erm...y-you...argh!" I stomped my foot "You are an ass!"

Naruto's laughs only grew louder.

I huffed out an "Shutup, Uzumaki, or you are dead!" then ran off. I didn't want to deal with the truth just yet. Tomorrow. I would have to. Valentines Day. I had to put it at her door, ring the bell, then flee as fast as possible.

"Ino...I'm sort of serious when I ask this, but...do you really like Sakura? Because that would make _us_ rivals--"

_Oh, yeah, he has a crush on Sakura too, doesn't he? I think if she had to choose between me and this buffoon, she'd go with me. Either that or kill herself_, I thought to myself. _And I really have to get this shopping over with. I keep running into people when I don't want to! At this rate I'll never get anything done with!_

I cut him off with a snarled "We're only rivals because we're on different teams. Now. _Leave_. **Me**. **Alone**. Or. **Die**!"

Apparently he took me seriously because he just waved. Jerk. After arguing with me about my sexuality he waves to me? I would have thrown a shuriken at him if I hadn't seen a stores pretty display. A beautiful dress, some odd things, and then they had ribbons too! The silk kind too. Sakura would definitely look good with a silk, red ribbon in her pretty pink hair.

"This could be the store from long ago..." I whispered to myself as I walked in.

Not even a few minutes later I walked back out with four different ribbons. All of them the finest silk I have ever touches. One red, one dark pink, another that was navy, and then one white one. It had red hearts all over it that said in tiny letters inside each of the hearts 'I love you'.

_This should send her the message_, I thought happily.

IIIII

"Ino, sweetheart, you got a present!" cheered my mother as I walked into the house.

I looked up and said "So, where is it?"

"I put it up in your room. It's really nice too!"

"Who's it from?" I asked curiously.

"It was a nice young lady. She said that she was sorry that she upset you the other day and wanted me to give you it," my mother replied. With a suspicious look she asked "And who was that young lady, dear?"

The first thing that ran through my mind was Sakura. Who else could it be? But why would she apologize for an argument we had? We always argue. Why should this time be any different? Then again, I wouldn't mind getting a present from her, no matter what the reason.

"Did she have pink hair?" I asked.

"Yes."

"It was Sakura," I stated.

My mother looked confused. "Who's that again, dear?"

"Sakura. Haruno Sakura. Don't you remember her, mom? We were friends we were little," I reminded her.

"Oooohhh, that girl," my mother said softly, probably trying to remember any memories of our past friendship. "That girl that you broke up with to fight over a boy? Yes. I remember that."

"B-Broke up with?" I repeated as my body was giving a small shake.

"What? You two weren't together? It was so obvious that you had a crush on her. The cutest thing, really. Do you still like her now?" She said. Noticing the bags in my quivering hands, she added, "And what did you go out shopping for, again? You know you should be studying!"

"Uhh...how did you know...about..." I said quietly. Tears formed in the corners of my eyes. I can't believe that someone knew. How could someone know?

"Oh, honey, don't cry. What's wrong?" My mother put a caring hand on my shoulder.

"H-How could you know!" I snapped, shying from her touch. "Nobody was supposed to know! Nobody is supposed to know now either!"

"Well, I guess it's because I'm your mother that..." I didn't even stick around for the whole sentence. I ran up to my room for two reasons.

1) My Mom wasn't helping in any way, shape, or form

2) I wanted to know what Sakura got me. Badly.

IIIII

I kept looking at the card, over and over again. There was a picture of us (she taped it on there) when we were little on the front, us hugging on a bench, must have been eight or nine, and then beside it was the word 'Love'. Just like on her ribbon. Opening it up it said:

Dear Ino,

I apologize for upsetting you the other day. I'm not sure what I did, and we usually argue so I'm not sure why I feel so guilty, but I just want you to know that...well, you're a cool girl.

Love,

Haruno Sakura

_What kind of love do you mean? Stop playing with me!_ I thought as I flung it on my desk.

IIIII Narrator POV

Sakura opened the door of her home after being told that a package was on the doorstep for her. She was curious so she began to open it right then and there. There were four ribbons for her hair which were all more beautiful then the next. She got to the last one...'I love you'...

"Who could this be from?" Sakura thought out loud. She looked around the brown paper wrapping for a name or any sign but there wasn't. _I-Is this from Sasuke? Could it possibly be from him? _She thought.

IIIII Ino POV

I was a bit nervous to see if anything would come in reply the next day. I opened the front door not even five minutes after I woke up but nothing laid on the porch. I frowned a bit. I guess she didn't feel the same way. Or it would take a while. Or maybe she wanted to tell me something to my face?

I decided to go out after breakfast. Take my mind off of things by going out shopping. To my unpleasant surprise I could see Naruto at a Ramen shop as I began into town. I just hoped he didn't notice me. I prayed to the Gods that he did not notice me. Like usual, nobody listens to me, and he started waving like a fool as I passed by. I lowered my head in reply hoping he would get the message to just leave me alone. After that talk about Sakura the other day I was feeling murderous towards him and I was armed with a kunai in my purse.

He started following me. Oy Vey. Must I tell him to back off or doesn't he realize that he's annoying? He had that usual grin on his face as I looked behind me.

I asked "What do you want, Uzumaki?"

"You sound angry..." He pointed out the obvious.

"Well I usually don't have people following me," I replied. He seemed confused but didn't leave. "...If you didn't know, I don't want you following me. I don't like it and I never will."

"You're in a really bad mood," He got an even bigger grin "I guess you found out the news."

"What news?" My mind set immediately on Sakura.

"What, you didn't know? I mean it involves Sakura so I thought you would know right away. You usually find these things out when every kid in Konohagakure is talking about it."

"What! What!"

"Just that she got a present from Sasuke for Valentines Day and he says he didn't send it to her. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this present...would you?" He leaned in a bit to see that I was blushing a bit.

"Why do you have to be so damn nosy?" I shouted back.

He stepped back a couple steps just so I wouldn't hit him. "Woah, calm down. I was just wondering."

"Well if you must know..." I crossed my arms. I really shouldn't tell him this but someone had to know "...That present was from me."

"I knew it!" He cheered.

I raised an eyebrow "What? How did you know?"

"It's so obvious, Ino. I mean Sakura is very cute, and smart, and sexy so it's no surprise that even a girl fell for her."

I asked, a bit shyly, "So...you aren't...like...offended?"

"Offended?" He snorted "Oh, please, that don't bother me. I mean Sakura could like you too. I dunno. Just that I always thought you and her liked Sasuke..."

"Hn. Stupid brooding Sasuke...she thinks she got it from him? Well I'll tell her straight that it wasn't! It was from me," I announced to myself. It was supposed to be only to myself but Naruto seemed to be my back up cheering section as he nodded furiously. "Why are you so into this? You want us to hook up? I thought you liked Sakura."

His response was less then smart. "Yeah, sure, I like her but I would like to see two girls together even mo-"

I didn't even let him finish that idiotic sentence. I smacked him on the back of the head so that he fell to the ground.

_Idiot boy...what else would I expect? He is a boy after all..._ I thought angrily as I rushed off to find Sakura.

IIIII Ino POV

I found myself at the doorstep of her house. It was very nerve-wracking. I mean, I haven't been there in years! What had changed? Was everything still the same as I remembered it? Would she even let me inside of her house? I was, after all, still seen as her rival. That other day when she helped me was probably nothing to her.

I knocked. My heart practically burst out of my chest when I heard footsteps coming closer to the door. Light footsteps. I hoped so bad that it was Sakura. If it was anybody else I'd probably end up running out of embarrassment. Her family would know by now that we aren't friends. Why would an ex-friend show up at Sakura's door at ten thirty in the morning?

_Calm down, Ino. You're making a big deal out of nothing. If she's not here just ask where she is. It's not like she went on a trip to another town or something..._ I began reassuring myself.

"Hello?" said Sakura, peeking out of the door. She opened it all of the way when she saw me standing there. "I-Ino? What are _you_ doing here?" She put emphasis on 'you' like she was offended. Guess she went back to disliking me.

"I...umm..." How was I going to explain this? Naruto got me all fired up and now I was here. All alone. Not knowing what to do, say, or think. In the presence of my crush, just stuttering like an idiot. I desperately needed my cheering section! "Could I talk to you?" I finally got out.

"I guess so..." Sakura moved out of the way so I could come in. "I think you remember where my room is. You can go up there now if you want. I'll be up in a second. Just have to get my breakfast."

As I headed up the stairs I heard her ask "Do you want anything to drink or eat?"

"No thanks!" I shouted back.

I found myself filled with memories as I walked down the hall towards her room. I remembered everything. From the pictures, to where her family's rooms were, to the bathroom, to even where they kept a sword behind the bookcase in case of emergency.

I opened the door to her room and mostly everything was pink. Just as I remembered it. Pink sheets, pink pillows, pink blankets, pink chair, pink everything. It was kind of scary, in a way.

Sakura came up beside me and sort of nudged her way in. I was going to tell her to watch where she was going next time but I forced myself to keep that comment in. If I were going to tell her today that I had a crush on her I would need her in a good mood. To let her know I'm not her enemy. That I want her to understand somewhat of how I feel without her judging it.

"Wanna' seat?" She asked, pulling a chair up to her bed.

I found myself unable to move. I ordered my legs in my mind, _Sit, dammit, sit! Don't stand here like an idiot! She'll think you're nuts or something! _and finally got into the chair.

"Toast?" offered Sakura.

I shook my head and looked at the floor.

"So..." Sakura bent down a little to look at me straight in the face. "What's going on?"

"I...well..." My eyes darted towards the door. I started calculating how long it would take me to get to the door from here and then get out of the house and run down the street without her getting in my way. I wanted to tell her so bad but I also wanted to get out of there so bad. Why couldn't I just blurt it out?

"I don't have time to waste, Ino, I have to meet the others at noon today and I still have to take a shower," Sakura said with annoyance.

"It's not a waste of time!" I said. I looked up, my eyes showing a bit of fury that she would call this a waste of time. Then again she didn't know what I was trying to say. "Y-You know that present yesterday?"

"You mean the one Sasuke pretends he didn't send?" she huffed while crossing her arms. "Yeah. What about it? Did he send one to you too?"

"No," I replied. "And it wasn't Sasuke who sent it. It was someone else."

"Who?"

"I...i-it was me."

"You sent that?" She repeated. Pulling out her ribbon she looked at the new one I sent her. "I love you...so...you're in..."

"Y-Yes," I stuttered. My head shot down because I couldn't bare to say it to her face. "I-I'm in love with you Sakura. I just didn't know how to say it! You never made time enough for me! It was always 'Sasuke' this and 'Sasuke' that. 'Isn't he cool?', 'Isn't he awesome', 'Sasuke actually talked to me'? That's all I heard from you! I hated it because I wanted your attention!"

I waited for a reply but none came. I lifted my head up once more to see her blushing, holding the ribbon tightly in her hands, looking at me with soft eyes. She let a smile slip onto her face.

"So, I wasn't wrong. After all of these years..." Sakura whispered.

"You aren't, ya' know, mad? Offended? Anything?"

"No. Not at all. I'm sort of glad but confused. I thought you liked Sasuke. That's why I turned against you."

"Same here. I thought you liked Sasuke so I pretended to like him too," I admitted. "I thought that if I took him from you that you would think nothing more of him. I just wanted you to notice me. I only wanted you to say you liked me. Not that stupid boy!"

Sakura jumped forward and hugged me. I blinked in confusion. "W-What's wrong?" I patted her back soothingly.

"I just thought that you didn't mean it. When you gave me that ribbon when we were little...I thought you loved me and I was going to tell you I liked you but..." She looked me in the eyes "...You started looking at Sasuke."

"Only because I thought you were," I said.

She wrapped her arms around me once again and I could feel little tears sting my eyes. It was finally done. I told her and she was fine with it. No, scratch that. She was returning my feelings.

I forced her to look at me, grasping her by the shoulders, and said "Sakura. Please, tell me straight. Do you love me?"

Blushing, she nodded. "Y-Yes...I love you Ino."

"Why don't we go shopping then? My treat," I offered.

Sakura looked surprised by the sudden offer. "Sure!"

I gave her a light kiss on the cheek then stood up. Today was going to be a great day. I could just tell.

"Hurry up, bill board brow," I teased as she put on her sandals.

She smirked up at me with a cute look in her eyes, "Why don't you slow down? Ino, you porker."

IIIII

Wasn't great but atleast I tried. Please do review! Flames will be ignored, constructive criticism is always welcome.

Sorry if I have made any mistakes. I apologize deeply for them!


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